get some stuff
and tell our folks and we'll be back in an hour because the tide's
starting to run up," said a boy they called Billy.

"If you have any trouble with the folks just give me a smoke signal and
I'll canoe up," drawled Townsend.

"Good old Rip," chorused half a dozen voices.

The boy they called Billy turned to Pee-wee and whispered, "Don't worry
about your folks. Old Rip makes a specialty of parents; they all eat
out of his hands, fathers especially. As soon as they see him they
surrender."

"I make a specialty of cooks," Pee-wee said. "Our cook gives me
everything I want. And anyway we couldn't starve because scouts can't
starve; they can eat roots and herbs and things; I'll show you. Do you
like chocolate marshmallows? Even scouts can eat moss to keep from
starving. And they can't get lost either--I'll show you how."

Pee-wee decided to take one of the boys with him to prove to his mother
that the island was inhabited, and two other boys started back up the
river in the other canoe. This left Townsend with two companions on
the island. He sat against the trunk of the tree, knees drawn up,
philosophically scanning the shore and occasionally giving an expectant
glance up the river for smoke signals. He seemed resigned to a quiet
expectancy that he would be summoned to intercede in one quarter or
another. He looked very whimsical and funny.

"I wonder if you have to crank this island or whether it has a
self-starter," he drawled in his amusing way. "If they don't get back
by one or so, we'll have to make some root sandwiches. What do you
say, Charlie!"

CHAPTER XII

THE DISCOVERER RETURNS

In about an hour and a half the two boys from up the river returned
with provisions.

"Any news from the discoverer?" they asked.

"I think he's being held as a hostage by the cook," said Townsend.
"Shall we land and lay waste to his home?"

"Oh, I think we can safely leave everything to him," said Billy. "What
do you think of the discoverer, anyway?"

"I'm for the discoverer first, last and always," said Townsend. "He
has only to lead and I'll follow. Now that we've met him I feel that
life without the discoverer would not be worth living. I'm glad that
next week is Easter vacation, because we couldn't think of school and
the discoverer at the same time. He's more than a scout, he's an
institution.

"Do you know, Charlie, I think we're moving? We were almost opposite
that old ra